Can you grow tobacco in France?

The answer is yes. Growing the plant is entirely legal and straightforward; drying and curing the leaves so that they can be smoked is a good deal harder. Here is how to go about producing your own tobacco.

Sowing tobacco

Tobacco grows best in a warm, dry region. If that describes where you live, obtain good-quality seed, ideally organic, which some brands sell online. You can choose between dark tobaccos and light tobaccos. Sowing takes place between February and May. Be careful: the seeds are very small and easily blown away, so handle them with care.

Fill pots with seed compost, water it, then firm it down. Scatter a few seeds on the damp surface of the compost and cover the pots with plastic film. You can keep them in a greenhouse for a few days, or indoors behind a picture window. What matters is that the temperature stays between 18 and 20 degrees.

Leave the film in place until the seedlings emerge, which takes between 5 and 15 days. To water them, simply pour water into the saucer beneath the pots and let it rise by capillary action. As soon as the seedlings appear, remove the film, give the plants as much light as possible and water them with a spray bottle. If a single pot holds too many, they can be thinned out: just prick them out into a fresh pot.

Planting out

Once the risk of frost has passed, the tobacco plants can go into the ground. They need to be at least 10 cm tall, otherwise they are unlikely to survive. Tobacco likes full sun. Leave 60 cm between plants so that they grow properly.

How the plant grows

Tobacco needs little water. It only requires watering in very dry weather. Side shoots should be removed as they appear, as should flower buds before they open, which results in a higher nicotine content in the leaves.